Harvey Weinstein 2020: This man is presidential material

Harvey Weinstein was once at the very top of Hollywood. As accusations of his sexual predation came to light, it didn't just trigger his downfall. It ushered in a tidal wave of exposure of sexual impropriety in the film industry.
USA TODAY

My advice: Build a career in reality TV, punditry and politics, using lessons learned from the masters — Clinton, Trump and Roy Moore.

Harvey Weinstein, despite being an accused sexual predator, is a talented guy — rich, manipulative and very creative. Weinstein needs a new career, however, since he has been expelled from the entertainment industry by those high-minded folks at the motion picture academy. With Weinstein’s skills, accomplishments and history of alleged sexual misconduct, he could have a brilliant future as a reality TV star, pundit and politician. This man is presidential material.

Former presidentBill Clinton was accused throughout his career of various kinds of sexual misconduct, from inappropriate touching to rape. He paid almost $1 million to settle a sexual harassment claim. While president, Clinton had an affair with an intern young enough to be his daughter and lied about it. He was impeached and eventually disbarred because of his chicanery. Along the way, Clinton treated America to an educational discussion about whether oral sex was (or wasn’t) actually sex, among many other entertaining episodes. None of this hurt Clinton with his political base. They viewed these allegations as part of a vast right-wing conspiracy.

Mind you, Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill said she wouldn’t want her daughter near Clinton. But nothing he had done disqualified him from being a leader of the Democratic Party, or a paid speaker to the great and the good, while taking donations for the Clinton Foundation (Fun fact: One of his donors was the Donald J. Trump Foundation). Apparently, accused serial sexual harassers can do well while doing good.

Even The New York Times isn’t bothered by Clinton’s failings. It recently had him review an important new biography of former president Ulysses S. Grant. Perhaps the newspaper has already penciled in Weinstein to review the next major book about the motion picture industry.

The great thing about tolerance for accused sexual predators in politics is that it’s bipartisan.

Like Clinton, President Trump has a history of allegations of sexual misconduct. Trump has been accused of adultery and sexual assault, and criticized by numerous women for inappropriate behavior (he has denied these charges). We even have a recording of Trump explaining his approach to courtship and romance (it involves grabbing women’s private parts). But Trump’s oh-so-proper evangelical base isn’t bothered by any of this (kind of like the progressives who never seem bothered by Clinton’s behavior). That paragon of Christian virtue, Vice President Pence, is proud to stand with Trump.

Whatever you might think of his politics, Moore’s opponent — Democrat Doug Jones — is by all accounts a decent family man and a lawyer who believes in our Constitution. Jones has never been suspended for ethics violations. Yet despite these vast differences, Moore remains a viable political candidate.

If Clinton, Moore and Trump can succeed in politics, Weinstein can too!

Here’s my advice for Weinstein: Build a career in reality TV, punditry and eventually politics. Follow the examples of Clinton, Moore and Trump about sexual misconduct charges. Attack the accusers and blame your political opponents. Don’t take the traditional approach of demonstrating in-depth knowledge of issues and a passion for policy — that’s so 20th century. Instead, tread the far older path Trump has taken to the presidency: Promise the public bread and keep it entertained with circuses.

To satisfy the public’s hunger for a circus, Weinstein could follow Trump’s example and create a reality TV show. Maybe title it Sex Rehab with Harvey Weinstein, perhaps co-hosted by Julian Assange (the various accusations against Assange suggest that perhaps he needs some sex rehab). Maybe get CNN chief Jeff Zucker to orchestrate the comeback. As an NBC executive years ago, he was the force behind The Apprentice and the starring role that put Trump on the road to the White House. And he might soon be looking for a new job.

In cable news talking-head appearances, Weinstein should follow Trump’s example: Promise everyone everything, vociferously claim he’d lower taxes, spend more on coal and farm subsidies, and tell American workers they’ve been cheated. Better yet — tell them they’ve been cheated by Trump and his gang of globalist Goldman Sachs hedge fund kleptocrats! Weinstein should also convince a presidential kingmaker (whether from Russia, China or North Korea) that a Weinstein presidency would be good for that country. Who knows, maybe Assange could help out by leaking embarrassing emails from Weinstein’s opponents.

Weinstein’s experience in the entertainment industry should come in handy. He knows how to create believable fantasies and has the potential to out-trump Trump. As H.L. Mencken said, no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.

Welcome to the 21st century, where Hollywood has higher moral standards than the American people.

How about this presidential campaign slogan for 2020: "Weinstein — not the president America needs, but the president voters deserve."

Steven Strauss, a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors, is a lecturer and visiting professor at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School. Follow him on Twitter: @Steven_Strauss.